Self-adhering wrapping paper with selectively removable backing

ABSTRACT

A thin, multi-layer, flexible web of self-adhering wrapping material, typically paper, foil, polymer, or metalized polymer having a first layer having indicia on an outfacing major surface, pressure-sensitive or the like adhesive disposed on an opposing major surface, and a selectively removable protective layer over the adhesive. The protective layer is formed from a plurality of individual small, spaced-apart portions that facilitate their removal. Alignment indicia (e.g., gridlines, rulers, etc.) may be provided on the protective layer. In alternate embodiments, a chemically activatable adhesive may be used to replace a pressure sensitive adhesive. The wrapping material may be provided in sheets of different sizes or in continuous rolls.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to wrapping paper and, more particularly, towrapping paper having an adhesive layer on a back side thereof, theadhesive layer having selectively removable protective backing disposedthereupon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically a gift giver selects a decorative gift wrap to cover aproduct, box, or other container for both concealing the content andproviding a decorative/festive appearance. To achieve a neatly presentedgift wrapped package requires skill, discipline, and patience, qualitiesrarer in some persons than others. Although prepackaged pre-decoratedgift bags and gift box assemblies are now relatively commonplace, somegift givers prefer to provide a personal touch to the gift being given.A personal touch/effort by the gift giver is evidenced by personalhand-wrapping of a gift, a task that is infinitely more difficult forsome than others.

For the “wrapping challenged” the task of wrapping even a pre-formed boxof uniform dimensions still requires wrapping which can provide a lessdesirable appearance due to wrapping technique flaws. Furthermore, thetask of wrapping a box typically proves time consuming (selecting paper,sizing, cutting, folding and taping) and somewhat wasteful of resources(paper, tape, etc.). In times of high volume, gift purchasing, theprospect of taking the purchases home to wrap them adds to the stress ofan already hectic shopping experience. To some challenged gift givers,the combination is almost unbearable.

Wrapping a gift is especially difficult when tape, scissors, etc. arenot readily available. Such situations may occur when a last minute giftis purchased on the way to an event and the gift giver must wrap thegift in their car or in another similar location.

In the mercantile environment, gift wrapping is often time consuming forboth the merchant and the shopper. To the merchant who must wraphundreds of packages as a service to his/her customers, gift wrappingconstitutes a significant expense, primarily in the form of lost time tohis sales force or extra employees dedicated to gift wrapping. For theshopper who must wait while his/her packages or someone else's packagesare being wrapped, the conventional gift wrapping process may beannoyingly slow.

Gift wrapping entails purchasing a roll or other package of suitabledecorative paper, selecting or cutting off a piece of wrapping papersuitable in size for the carton or package, or other item at to bewrapped, attempting to center the carton or package on the paper andhold it centered while folding the paper about the carton and securingthe paper. Additional difficulties arise when the gift wrapper attemptsto match patterns or otherwise create symmetry with regard to theplacement of a package on the wrapping paper.

While some wrapping products are known in the prior art that utilize apressure sensitive adhesive, repositioning a package once it hascontacted the adhesive is nearly impossible.

It would, therefore, be advantageous to provide wrapping material (e.g.,wrapping paper) that overcomes at least some of the difficultiesinherent in wrapping strategies and products of the prior art.

DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART

Many attempts to provide solutions to some of the problems discussedhereinabove may be found in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No.3,489,333 for ARRANGEMENT FOR WRAPPING PACKAGES issued Jan. 13, 1970 toJack D. Culbert, et al. provides a pre-folded, collapsed box coupledwith a single unitary wrap of having one or more regions of adhesiveavailable to seal the wrapping paper to the box.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,943 for GIFT WRAP AND METHOD issued Aug. 16, 1994 toRonald D. Hendren teaches a quickly applied preformed gift wrap to acarton, the wrap having pre-scribed fold lines sequentially numbered forfolding about a carton and shielded adhesive strips to secureoverlapping edges of the folded portions.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,703 for SELF ADHERING WRAPPER issued Feb. 19, 2002to Suzanne Betts provides a sheet of flexible material in a rectangularconfiguration with four edges defining a periphery with four cornerssized to conform to any of a plurality of boxes having a variety ofshapes and sizes. Each sheet also has a back surface without anyprinting thereon and a front surface with or without decorative printingthereon. A pressure sensitive adhesive providing for removal andrepositioning of the sheet is located on the back surface along the fourside edges but terminates in proximity to the four corners. The adhesiveforms an essentially rectangular adhesive frame having a peripheryessentially co-extensive with the periphery of the sheet and a hollowinterior and corners to facilitate handling. The adhesive may adhere tothe front surface when wrapping a box or other item. The frame extendsfrom the periphery toward the hollow interior whereby each sheet may bewrapped about a box so that portions of the adhesive contact, engage,and attach to portions of the front surface for securing the sheetwrapped about at least a portion of the box or other item.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,495,228 for SELF ADHESIVE WRAPPING MATERIAL issued Dec.17, 2002 to Jennifer Mauch, et al. shows a self adhesive wrappingmaterial for wrapping an object without the need for tape or otheradhesive material. The self-adhesive wrapping material includes a panel.The panel has a top surface and a bottom surface. The panel comprises agenerally flexible material. Each of a plurality of adhesive portions issecurely adhered to the bottom surface of the panel. A plurality ofcovering members for removably attaches to and covers the adhesiveportions. Each of the covering members generally covers one of theadhesive portions.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,674 for GIFT WRAPPING issued Aug. 12, 2003 to LindenH. Bowman teaches a combination folding gift box-sheet wrap combinationthat includes measured, pre-scored, indicia-bearing wrappingdimensionally corresponding to the companion gift box where the sheetwrap permits repeatable and consistent wrapping and even when includingnon-repeating design element.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,076,004 for SHEET WITH TRANSITIONAL RELEASE MATERIALTHAT INITIALLY ALLOWS FOR REPOSITIONING FOLLOWED BY RELEASE FAILUREissued Dec. 13, 2011 to Vanderzanden, et al. shows a release materialapplied to a sheet material that provides for temporary repositioning ofan adhesive over the release material. Over time the adhesion betweenthe release material and the applied adhesive builds such that theadhesive cannot be removed from the release material without damagingthe underlying sheet material. The release material includes a freenitrogen containing basic group. The release material is dispersed on aflexible substrate and the release material allows for repositioningwhen contacted with a pressure sensitive adhesive, which includes a freecarboxylic acid group, for at least I minute and not more than 10minutes.

United States Published Patent Application No. 2005/0276593 forSELECTIVE ADHESIVE GIFT WRAPPING SHEET published Dec. 15, 2005 uponapplication by Jonathan P. Kitchin, et al. discloses a gift wrapmaterial affixable to a target surface. The gift wrap material comprisesa linerless opaque first substrate. The first substrate has a firstmajor surface and a second major surface. A selective adhesion mechanismis disposed on the first major surface. The selective adhesion mechanismincludes a pressure sensitive adhesive and is configured so as toprovide a first adhesion force to the target surface before activationof the mechanism and a second adhesion force to the substrate afteractivation of the mechanism. The first adhesion force is at a level soas to allow the sheet to be positionable on the target surface. Theinvention also is a method for wrapping a gift. A linerless opaque firstsubstrate is provided. The substrate has a first major surface, a secondmajor surface and a selective adhesion mechanism disposed on the firstmajor surface. The first major surface is positioned against the giftwith substantially no adhesion of the first substrate to the gift. Theselective adhesion mechanism is activated by applying a force to thesecond major surface. The first substrate is adhered to the gift.

United States Published Patent Application No. 2008/0173404 forSEGMENTED ADHESIVE DISPENSER SHEET SYSTEM published Jul. 24, 2008 uponapplication by Samuel L. Guillory shows a segmented adhesive dispenserin the form of a sheet or roll has a polymeric sheet coated with easy torelease coating. Adhesive segments carried by the polymeric sheet areremoved from the segmented adhesive dispenser and applied togift-wrapping wrapped on a gift box. The adhesive segments havesubstantially completely coated adhesive coverage on the polymeric sheetcontacting side. The opposite side of the polymeric sheet is uncoloredor decoratively colored, printed or patterned. The adhesive segment hasa tab provided on one corner or edge, which is removed after placing theadhesive segment on the gift-wrapping. Upon removal of the tab, theadhesive coating directly below the tab secures the adhesive segment tothe gift-wrapping without wrinkles or dangling unsightly portions on thegift-wrap. Removal of the adhesive segment, and its application to thegift-wrapping is readily carried out by a one-hand operation.

United States Published Patent Application No. 2009/0127322 for GIFTWRAPPING MATERIAL AND METHOD published May 21, 2009 upon application byPatricia Miller discloses a paper-like material in sheet form having adesign on at least one side of the material. The material has a means ofseparating the material such as perforations arranged in a pattern orgrid. Adhesive means such as tape or glue is arranged along thepotential new edges created by separating the material, therebyproducing a gift wrapping material. The gift wrapping material may beused without tools or supplies in order to wrap gifts of a wide varietyof sizes and shapes. In addition, the material may be easily reused onother gifts of equal or smaller size.

United States Published Patent Application No. 2009/0229732 for STRETCHRELEASABLE ADHESIVE published Sep. 17, 2009 upon application by MichaelD. Determan, et al. provides a stretch releasable adhesive articleincludes first and second opposed major surfaces and a pull tab, and atleast a portion of at least one of the first and second major surfacesis adhesive. The adhesive article has a cross-sectional area-as measurednormal to the axis defined by a stretch release force applied to thepull tab during the stretch release process—that has a defined width tothickness ratio, and the adhesive article may have a visible lighttransmission of at least about 90%, and a haze of no greater than 5%.

United States Published Patent Application No. 2012/0000970 for GIFTWRAP WITH TAPE published Jan. 5, 2012 upon application by Erin Johnsonshows a combination of gift wrapping paper and pre-cut pieces ofadhesive tape. The gift wrap may be a single individual sheet that iswound around a tube or mandrel, otherwise known as roll wrap or it maybe folded into neat, square or rectangular shapes, also known as flatwrap. Several pieces of pre-cut tape are provided on an adhesive backingsheet, from which the pre-cut tape can be easily removed. The tape maycome in various shapes, sizes and colors. Alternatively, to/fromstickers or adhesive seals may be provided in place of or in addition tothe pre-cut strips of tape. The gift wrapping paper with tape ispackaged together in shrink wrap, cellophane or other clear ortransparent packaging material. The package may additionally includebows, ribbons, cards, scissors, gift wrap cutter or other gift wrapaccessory.

None of the patents and published patent applications, taken singly, orin any combination are seen to teach or suggest the novel wrappingmaterial of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there are provided severalconfigurations of self-adhering wrapping material having selectivelyremovable backing. Typically a thin sheet of wrapping material(typically paper, polymer, foil, or metalized polymer) has a pressuresensitive type adhesive applied to a rear surface thereof. A protectivelayer covers the adhesive in a pattern that readily allows selectiveremoval of small portions the protective backing. Indicia may be appliedeither the rear surface of the thin sheet or, alternately, to the outersurface of the protective backing sheet. The rear indicia may be aseries of grid lines and may periodically include a ruler disposed alongeither the X-axis and/or the Y-axis of the thin sheet of wrappingmaterial. In alternate embodiments, the adhesive may be a chemicallyactivatable adhesive. Such adhesives may not require the bulk or expenseof a backing sheet. Either water or a benign solvent disposed in asponge tipped pen or other similar dispenser may be used to selectivelyactivate the adhesive.

In addition, stickers may be provided to decorate a wrapped item or toseal loose wrapper ends.

The wrapping material in accordance with the invention may be providedin bulk rolls, or in flat packs of one or more sheets of wrappingmaterial. Flat packs may be provided in a number of different sheetsizes to facilitate wrapping common size packages (e.g., shirt boxes,etc.). Flat pack wrapping material may be provided as part of a wrappingkit that includes a knocked down box and other accessories, for example,stickers or other sealing material for use in spots where the adhesiveon the rear surface of the material itself is insufficient.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide gift wrappingmaterial (e.g., wrapping paper) having an adhesive disposed on a rearmajor surface thereof.

It is another object of the invention to provide gift wrapping materialhaving a decorative design or other indicia on a front surface and anadhesive disposed on a rear surface thereof and with a backing sheethaving selectively removable portions thereof over the adhesive.

It is a further object of the invention to provide gift wrapping paperhaving an adhesive disposed on a rear surface wherein the withselectively removable portions of a backing sheet are relatively smallindividual backing sheet portions arranged in a predetermined patternincluding a small gap between adjacent ones of the small individualbacking sheet portions.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide gift wrapping paperhaving an adhesive disposed on a rear surface wherein the withselectively removable portions of a backing sheet are relatively smallindividual backing sheet portions formed from a transparent ortranslucent material.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide gift wrappingpaper having an adhesive disposed on a rear surface wherein therelatively small individual backing sheet portions are substantiallyrectangular, each having a major axis.

It is a yet another object of the invention to provide gift wrappingmaterial having an adhesive disposed on a rear surface wherein therelatively small individual backing sheet portions are arranged in apattern with the major axis of at least one of the portions alignedorthogonally to at least one other of the portions.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide an alignmentgrid, ruler, or other indicia disposed on a rear surface to facilitatealigning the wrapping material with an item to be wrapped therewith.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide gift wrappingpaper having an adhesive disposed on a rear side wherein the adhesive isa chemically activated adhesive that may be selectively activated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a top plan, schematic view of a portion of a sheet ofwrapping material with a solid backing member in accordance with theprior art;

FIG. 1B is a bottom plan, schematic view of the wrapping material ofFIG. 1A and showing a solid backing member;

FIG. 1C is a side elevational, schematic view of the sheet of wrappingmaterial of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a top plan, schematic view of a portion of a sheet ofwrapping material having a decorative design on its front surface inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2B is a bottom plan, schematic view of a portion of a sheet ofwrapping material with a selectively removable backing of FIG. 2A

FIG. 2C is a side elevational, schematic view of a portion of the sheetof wrapping material of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan, schematic view of the portion of the sheet ofwrapping material of FIG. 2B having added gridlines;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the portion of the sheet of wrappingmaterial of FIG. 2B having another pattern of indicia disposed on a rearsurface;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational, schematic view of a solvent applicator foruse in activating chemically activatable adhesives; and

FIGS. 6A-6E are perspective, schematic views of a package in successivestages of being wrapped in the wrapping material of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, there is shown a bottom planschematic view, a top plan schematic view, a bottom plan schematic view,and a side elevational schematic view, respectively of a portion of asheet of wrapping material forming a multi-layer web in accordance withthe prior art, generally at reference number 100. As used herein, theterms wrapping material and multi-layer web are used interchangeable.Wrapping material 100 is a thin, flexible multi-layer web having anupper or front surface 102 and an opposing lower or rear surface 104.

A top layer 106 of multilayer web 100 is typically formed from paper andgenerally carries artistic indicia 112 on an upper surface thereof. Suchartistic indicia are believed to be well known to those of skill in thewrapping paper art.

A layer of adhesive 108 is disposed on a lower (inner) surface, notspecifically identified, of top layer 106. Adhesive 108 typically may bea pressure sensitive adhesive or the like.

With most types of adhesive 108, a lower protective layer 110 is placedover adhesive 108 to prevent the adhesive's unintended adherence to anobject other than the object to be wrapped. In the prior art, typicallylower protective layer 110 is a single sheet although otherconfigurations are also known.

Referring now also to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C, there are shown a top plan,schematic view, a bottom plan, schematic view and a side elevational,schematic view, respectively of a portion of a sheet of wrappingmaterial in accordance with the invention, generally at reference no.200.

Wrapping material 200 in accordance with the inventions is also a thin,flexible multi-layer web having an upper or front surface 202 and anopposing lower or rear surface 204.

Top layer 206 of multilayer web 200 is typically formed from paper,polymer, metal foil, metalized polymer, etc. and generally carriesartistic indicia exemplified by pattern 216 on an upper surface 202thereof. Such artistic indicia are believed to be well known to those ofskill in the wrapping paper art.

It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that any thin,flexible web material upon which indicia may be printed or otherwiseaffixed may be used to practice the invention.

A layer of adhesive 208 is disposed on a lower (inner) surface, notspecifically identified, of top layer 206. Adhesive 208 may be apressure sensitive adhesive, a chemically activated adhesive or anyother adhesive suitable for the application.

Adhesives 208 may be applied to a rear surface, not specificallyidentified, of top layer 206 by any known application process such asspraying, rolling, brushing, adhering a preformed thin adhesive layer,etc. In addition, adhesive may be selectively applied to top layer by aprocess such as screen printing or any other similar process known tothose of skill in the art. Selective application allows gaps betweenIndividual backing pieces 210 a, 210 b . . . 210 n to be adhesive freethat may be advantageous for some applications.

With most types of adhesive 208, a lower protective layer 210 is placedover adhesive 208 to prevent the adhesive's unintended adherence to anobject other than the object to be wrapped. In the prior art and shownin FIG. 1C, lower protective layer 210 is typically a single sheet ofbacking material although other configurations are also known.

In the novel backing sheet arrangement of the invention, backing sheet210 consists of a plurality of small, closely spaced, individual piecesof backing sheet 210 a, 210 b . . . 210 n. For illustration, Individualbacking pieces 210 a, 210 b . . . 210 n are arranged in two groups ofvertically oriented individual backing pieces 210 a, 210 b . . . 210 nwith edge backing pieces 212 along the top and bottom edge of sheet 200.Individual backing pieces 210 a, 210 b . . . 210 n are separated bysmall gaps 214 to facilitate removal of individual backing pieces 210 a,210 b . . . 210 n as required to wrap a package, that process beingdescribed in more detail hereinbelow.

Products available in the market place and believed to be well known tothose of skill in the art are known as “Crack 'n Peel®” that utilizescoring in their backing sheet that allow a user to bend the sheet toexpose an edge of the backing paper to facilitate its removal. A similarbending action may be used with wrapping material 200 of the invention.The size of small gaps 214 is chosen such that when wrapping material200 is bent to facilitate removal of one of Individual backing pieces210 a, 210 b . . . 210 n, the radius of the bend keeps exposed adhesiveregions 208 in small gaps 214 from touching and possibly adhering to anundesired surface.

It will be realized by those of skill in the art that a myriad ofdifferent arrangements of individual backing pieces 210 a, 210 b . . .210 n may be formed and the invention is not considered limited to thearrangements chosen for purposes of disclosure. Rather, the invention isintended to include any and all possible arrangements of Individualbacking pieces 210 a, 210 b . . . 210 n with gaps 214.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, there is shown a bottom plan, schematicview of the portion of wrapping material of FIG. 2B but with anexemplary grid pattern printed on small individual backing pieces 210 a,210 b . . . 210 n. In this example, a series of horizontal lines 220 anda series of vertical lines 218 are useful for aligning an item to bewrapped squarely, the item to be wrapped being neither shown nor formingany portion of the invention.

Referring now also to FIG. 4, there is shown a rear plan, schematic viewof an alternate embodiment of the novel wrapping material in accordancewith the invention, generally at reference number 400. In wrappingmaterial 400, exemplary alignment indicia consisting of horizontal lines402, vertical lines 404, and diagonal lines 406 are printed directly ona rear surface, not specifically identified, of top layer 206. Asubstantially transparent adhesive 408 is then applied directly overalignment indicia 402. Finally small individual backing pieces 410 a,410 b . . . 410 n are made from transparent polymer, thereby allowingalignment indicia 402, 404, 406 to show through small individual backingpieces 410 a, 410 b . . . 410 n.

It will be recognized to those of skill in the art that numerousvariations in alignment indicia may be provided. For example, diagonallines, numerical indicia, rulers, etc. may be added. Consequently, theinvention is not considered limited to the examples of FIGS. 3 and 4chosen for purposes of disclosure. Rather, any and all possiblealignment lines, numbers, pointers, symbols or the like are intended forinclusion in the invention.

Referring now also to FIG. 5, there is shown a side elevational,schematic view of a solvent applicator useful for selectively activatingregions of chemically activatable adhesive on wrapping material inaccordance with the invention.

Activator 500 consists of a hollow, flexible tube body 502, typicallysealed at a distal end 504. A screw connector 506 at a proximal end 508of flexible tube 502 allows selective attachment and detachment of anapplicator tip 510 having a sponge-like tip 512. Screw connector 506also allows filling tube 502 with a liquid solvent 514.

The novel wrapping material 200, 400 in accordance with the invention isused by selecting a sheet thereof or cutting an appropriate length froma bulk roll, not shown, of wrapping material.

Referring now also to FIG. 6A, there is shown a perspective view of afirst step in wrapping a package.

The selected sheet or piece of wrapping material 200, 400 is placed facedown (i.e., with the plurality of small individual backing sheetportions 210 a. 210 b . . . 210 n or 410 a, 410 b . . . 410 n) facingupward on a flat surface.

One or more of the plurality of small individual backing sheet portions210 a. 210 b . . . 210 n or 410 a, 410 b . . . 410 n is removed from anarea 602 in which adhesive 208 is exposed. A package 600 forming no partof the invention is lowered onto wrapping material 200 in the directionshown by arrow 604.

As may be seen in FIG. 6B, package 600 is placed on wrapping material200 and a fold 608 of wrapping material 200 over a top surface, notspecifically identified, of package 600. Pattern 216 is now visible. Forclarity, the plurality of small individual backing sheet portions 210 a.210 b . . . 210 n or 410 a, 410 b . . . 410 n are not shown on surface606.

As may be seen in FIG. 6C, additional folds have been made in a mannerbelieved to be well known to the general public. As in FIG. 6B, theplurality of small individual backing sheet portions 210 a, 210 b . . .210 n or 410 a, 410 b . . . 410 n are not shown on surfaces 606.

In FIG. 6D, additional end folds have been made defining the beginningof end fold 610.

Finally, in FIG. 6E, all folds are complete and the end flap (fold 610,etc.) may be sealed with transparent tape, stickers, seals, etc.represented by star 612.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operatingrequirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in theart, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen forpurposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications whichdo not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected byLetters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Package wrapping material, comprising: a) a thin,flexible web having a first layer having an outfacing front majorsurface and an opposing rear major surface, said outfacing front majorsurface having indicia disposed upon at least a portion thereof; b) anadhesive layer substantially uniformly disposed on at least a portion ofsaid opposing rear surface; c) a protective backing sheet disposed onsaid adhesive layer, said protective backing sheet comprising aplurality of individual backing sheet portions each separated one fromanother by a small gap at each periphery thereof, each of said pluralityof individual backing sheet portions having an inner, adhesive facingmajor surface and an opposing outer major surface.
 2. The packagewrapping material as recited in claim 1, wherein said first layercomprises a material selected from the group comprising: paper, foil,polymer, and metalized polymer.
 3. The package wrapping material,comprising a thin, flexible web as recited in claim 2, wherein saidadhesive layer comprises at least one adhesive selected from the group:an opaque adhesive, a transparent adhesive, and a translucent adhesive.4. The package wrapping material as recited in claim 1, wherein saidplurality of individual backing sheet portions each separated one fromanother by a small gap at each periphery are formed from material havinga property selected from the group: opaque, transparent, andtranslucent.
 5. The package wrapping material as recited in claim 3,further comprising: d) indicia disposed on at least one surface selectedfrom the group: said outer major surface of at least some of saidplurality of individual backing sheet portions, and said opposing rearsurface of said first layer.
 6. The package wrapping material as recitedin claim 4, wherein said indicia disposed on said outer major surface ofat least some of said plurality of individual backing sheet portions,and said opposing rear surface of said first layer comprises at leastone selected from the group: a horizontal line, a vertical line, adiagonal line, a number, a geometric symbol, and text.
 7. A method ofwrapping a package, the steps comprising: a) providing a piece ofwrapping material formed as a thin, flexible, multi-layer web having afirst layer having an outfacing front major surface and an opposing rearmajor surface, said outfacing front major surface having indiciadisposed upon at least a portion thereof; an adhesive layersubstantially uniformly disposed on at least a portion of said opposingrear surface; a protective backing sheet disposed on said adhesivelayer, said protective backing sheet comprising a plurality ofindividual backing sheet portions each separated one from another by asmall gap at each periphery thereof, each of said plurality ofindividual backing sheet portions having an inner, adhesive facing majorsurface and an opposing outer major surface; b) placing said outfacingfront major surface of said piece of wrapping material downward on asurface; c) removing at least one of said plurality of individualbacking sheet portions thereby exposing said adhesive layer; d)orienting an article to be wrapped and placing said article to bewrapped onto said exposed adhesive layer; e) using remaining regions ofsaid wrapping material to surround all surfaces of said article to bewrapped by folding and creasing said wrapping material; and f) applyingan item selected from the group comprising: transparent tape, and adecorative sticker.